CATALINA: MAYOR SHOULD FOLLOW CITY CHARTER

As the Mayor and Common Council search for a full time City Manager to fill the vacancy that has existed for approximately two years, mayoral candidate Frank A. Catalina warned Mayor Foster and any potential City Manager that may be named, to adhere to the Peekskill City Charter when making the appointment. There is widespread speculation that the mayor and her democrat Council will offer a five (5) year contract to an unnamed candidate, which would seek to bind future Administrations, in direct violation of the Peekskill City Charter. Catalina said, "The Peekskill City Charter is our governing document, our 'constitution' and at Section C10A (a), it specifically provides that the City Manager serves 'at the pleasure' of the Council and any contract that would seek to subvert that basic and longstanding provision, would be subject to revocation by a Catalina Administration, should the voters place their trust in me". Catalina was critical of the 'five-year contract' model, apparently favored by Mary Foster and her obedient Council as a failed model. "Mary Foster need not look far for evidence that this model is a failure since this is similar to the contract Mary Foster used to hire former City Manager Rick Finn. After hiring him, the first time he disagreed with her, he was removed. Now while that removal was within the authority of the mayor and council, these types of contracts leave us taxpayers holding the proverbial bag when these appointed officials are removed". He added "when Mr. Finn was shown the door, it cost the city close to $100,000.00 in severance pay and benefits and Finn's contract was only a year-to-year contract. If Finn had a five year contract, like the one now under discussion, it would have cost the taxpayers close to a half a million dollars." Catalina added, "This model is a proven failure wherever it is used. Look at the Peekskill City School District where just this week they revealed that they are paying a Superintendent a "buy-out" of almost $200,000 together with lifetime medical benefits to a man who worked there for less than two years, and his wife, who to my knowledge, has never lived in Peekskill". Since this Administration has driven our city into virtual bankruptcy, another five year obligation to an unproven appointee could prove to be yet another Foster financial boondoggle. Catalina said "Anyone under consideration for this position should seek very competent legal counsel before signing because I firmly believe such a contract would be found to be illegal and I will not be bound to any of Mary Foster's financial follies, especially a five year contract that is contrary to our Charter. It would be unfortunate for that appointee and his family to be caught in a situation that could have been avoided by a simple reading of the Charter. Any City Manager should expect the same working conditions that our hard working city employees are subject to and should never expect a "severance package" that is not available to all employees or anybody else in the private sector. The days of reckless spending in Peekskill are drawing to an end".